80 thoughts on “June 15, 2019: Mild”

  1. Last night Spooky got a Spooky but that doesnt count! Here are the current standings after a couple weeks. I can upload my Google sheet at some point.

    beau 4
    HJ 3
    zoomx 2
    free 2
    rhubarb 2
    cheaptoy 1
    nibbish 1
    twayn 1
    DreadPirate 1

      1. It’s a contest to see who can do the best spookying, which is based on spooky calling things and mentioning them afterwards. It’s pretty fitting, right?

    1. Once Burger King picked it up and I learned it was a GMO product, I lost interest in this plant based burger. We are messing around with a black bean based homemade burger patty at the joint.

      1. what's your, ah, beef with GMO? Personal, or market-based?

        Most (90+ pct) of US soybeans and corn are GMO, btw. Which means that most US pork and beef products are fed on GMO feed.

        1. It seems to me that the people who would be attracted to a plant-based burger would be well informed and turned off by GMO. Personally, it does not matter to me at all. It probably doesn't affect BK or White Castle as I doubt a large cross section of their guests really care.

          1. this one strikes me as ripe for cognitive dissonance. On the one hand, vegan burgers that (apparently) taste really good. Save teh Animalz!!!111one111!!! On the other, hand teh Evil Sciences.

            on the third hand, Impossible Foods is a small, privately-held company, not Big Ag or Big Burger. They are explicitly chasing a certain kind of greenery. Witness the "mission statement" bloviation on their website:

            We’ve been eating meat since we lived in caves. And today, some of our most magical moments together happen around meat: Weekend barbecues. Midnight fast-food runs. Taco Tuesdays. Hot dogs at the ballpark. Those moments are special, and we never want them to end. But using animals to make meat is a prehistoric and destructive technology. Animal agriculture occupies almost half the land on earth, consumes a quarter of our freshwater and destroys our ecosystems. So we’re doing something about it: we’re making meat using plants, so that we never have to use animals again. That way, we can eat all the meat we want, for as long as we want. And save the best planet in the known universe.

            I'm happily carnivorous, but with occasional pangs of guilt about how many/most food animals are treated and slightly concerned about the environmental effects of the meat industry. I'll be very happy to see this company succeed wildly.

      2. We are messing around with a black bean based homemade burger patty at the joint.

        I make a mean black bean and wild rice patty that is excellently topped with bacon and cheese. I suppose that’s not going to set well with the vegetarians.

      3. My mom got me a nice burger press because she knows I've been messing around with a black bean lentil burger for a while.

    2. I'm all for trying out impossible meat in block form. It's been a main conversation topic in a tech slack foods channel for months.

  2. Missed my opportunity for a Spooky last night as I played a round of golf with the boy and watched the US Open. Not sure if we have much for golfers on this site, but I have been on a roller coaster ride with my swing the past 30 years. When I was 22 (I think), I severely sprained both of my thumbs sliding into second base (Punto style) in a fast-pitch softball game. Since I had already paid for a student golf membership I stubbornly still played all summer without being able to have my thumbs on the grip of the club. This wrecked my swing for years and years. The past 5 years or so, I have finally been able to play without shanking every other shot. And... the past 2 years I have finally been able to add some length back into my game. 2 years ago my average drive was about 210-220 yards. The past 2 summers I have pushed that to about 250 with the occasional 280-300 yard bomb mixed in. Playing with my son last night really humbled me. I beat him by one stroke, but man he can tank the ball. We were on a long par 5 last night in which a creek runs through the fairway. Never in play off the drive for me, as our cart GPS said it was 348 yards out. The boy hit a rocket that bounced into that creek. He also drove a 290 yard hole using my 3 wood. If he can ever start hitting the ball consistently straight, I will be in trouble!

    With Father's Day weekend and the state trap tournament in town we will be super busy at work. I may not have time to check the line up and put out a Spooky call. So, I am going to pick Jason Castro. If he is not a starter, I will change that spooky call to Max Kepler. If neither start, please put me down for Eddie Rosario. Thanks, and a very Happy Father's Day (early) to all of you Dads out there!!

    1. Dang. Best I was ever really able to do was maybe 200, mostly because I had to drive with a 3 wood because I was incapable of hitting the driver anywhere close to resembling straight. I still have my clubs, but they've been collecting dust for over a decade now even though there are three courses within about ten minutes of me.

      1. The past 5 years I never get a heads up on the Green and White tournament, so at this point it is a no.

    2. I manage to play about once a summer, maybe twice if I'm lucky. I can't drive particularly far, though the last times I've gone out I recall that my drives tended to be straighter than they had been once upon a time.

      I'd love to play more, but finding the time is challenging with the practice and the kids.

      1. Yup, I haven't played since summer of 2017 when I somehow managed to sneak away twice. Someday...

        1. Next time you have a hearing anywhere near here, set it for the afternoon and we'll meet up for a round afterward.

    1. are you salting a day in advance, or hours in advance to grill today?

      My go-to man, Kenji Lopez-Alt sez:

      The Takeaway: Don't bother letting your steaks rest at room temperature. Rather, dry them very thoroughly on paper towels before searing. Or better yet, salt them and let them rest uncovered on a rack in the fridge for a night or two, so that their surface moisture can evaporate. You'll get much more efficient browning that way.

      1. I do the KL-A salting method, but I do let them come up to room temperature. I'm not particularly worried about surface moisture, but I do want to ensure the interiors reach the temperature I want without overcooking the exterior. The thirty degree difference does help in that regard.

      2. Day before. I'm well acquainted with that article, it's what put him on my mt Rushmore of cooking educators.

        1. I had actually missed the bit about salting a day or two in advance. Gonna try that for tomorrow's steak.

          1. well, Harold McGee has gotta be on there. I'd probably go with Julia Child. And then, this might be an unpopular pick, but Alton Brown. He's gotten a long way away from what made him famous, unfortunately.

            1. I’m heartily in support of Alton & Julia. Christopher Kimball & Lynne Rosetto Kasper are two other names that occurred to me. Not sure I'd pick either of them, but I've enjoyed the work of both.

              1. yea, Kimball's work with ATK was pretty great. I don't know why things got so bitter at the end.

                I found Rosetto Kasper to be a mixed bag, but then I only knew her from her Splendid Table radio show for the last couple of years before she turned it over.

            2. Good Eats era Alton Brown is on there. That show was instrumental in my cooking technique development.

              1. Ditto. Good Eats was my main source for learning how to cook.

                My personal other three would be one current and two past. Currently Kenji Lopez-Alt for sure. For the past, it’s Good Eats-era Alton Brown. Then there’s a big gap, but the other two past members would probably be Ming Tsai and 2000-ish Bobby Flay.

                I wouldn’t recommend him to others now, and wouldn’t probably follow any recipe of his anymore, but Bobby Flay was on Food Network constantly when I was in college, and his show that was all grilling certainly played a big role in me learning to use a grill in all sorts of ways. Considering maybe 75% of my cooking involves a grill at this point, he makes the list for me.

                1. on the "wouldn't recommend today" front, I learned a lot from early Mario Batali shows (Molto Mario). Associated, but without the sexual assaulty parts, Lidia Bastianich.

                  foundational for my interest in cooking was Graham Kerr's The Galloping Gourmet. I watched that a lot when I was a kid, because I was home sick a lot in elementary school. I doubt that I learned any technique, but he was entertaining as hell.

                  also on the "wouldn't recommend today" front, The Frugal Gourmet. I did learn a lot from his shows and books. I avoided the sexual assault parts.

                  1. In terms of sheer likeability no one beats Chef Kevin. (I'm never really going to cook anything he's pimping, but he makes my day everytime I see him on the morning news) Also, I've met him several times, and he's super delightful in person.

        2. I love this game. I’ll be back to post my Rushmore of cooking when I get back to my house.

          1. "cooking" and "cooking educators" are different categories. Looking forward to your list nonetheless.

          2. Okay, my cooking educator mt. rushmore is Mark Bittman , Meathead Goldwyn, Donald Link, and Cooks Illustrated (close second is the serious eats website crew, and a very close third is America's Test Kitchen (though I'm not really a fan of Chris Kimbell...)). However, if I'm real serious about this, Dr. Chop is the architect of my cooking degree. She taught me long before any of these other fools came along about flavor combinations and techniques to make a good dinner. I just upped my game because of the above mentioned fools. Mark Bittman might just need two slots because How To Cook Everything and How To Cook Everything Vegetarian are the ultimate and pretty much only guides to cooking anyone needs. Amazing ribs dot com is my go to source for info on smoking, grilling, or thinking about meats on the barby. Donald Link really, truly informed my understanding of southern Louisiana cooking, and that is a huge part of our current (and future) menu rotation. Cooks Illustrated has elevated my game is so many ways, and their tested recipes are almost no miss. The runners up are also hugely influential.

            1. I seriously considered Bittman. He's an arrogant as hell, but I love How to Cook Everything and the Girl loved How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.

              I considered mentioning Steven Raichlen ("Know your fire"), but he is so nebbishe that I couldn't pull the trigger on him. Still, The Barbecue Bible is a useful resource.

              Link also sounds interesting. But Meathead.... 🙂

              My interest in cooking began when I was about 10 and Mom and Dad opened a restaurant and I got to be a real jerk, a soda jerk. They named the place after a beautiful flower, the Oleander. We later learned it was poisonous, and eventually the restaurant failed. If you ever hear that I'm opening a restaurant, hunt me down and shoot me.

                1. I really didn't know about James Beard until well after I started seriously cooking. So, not on the foundational level for me, but on the reverent list forsure.

                  1. Yea, I thought about Bayless. Pro: his restaurants are excellent, and he presents as a gentle soul who is serious about Mexican cuisine. Con: his brother Skip.

                    1. Perhaps the only drawback to my in-laws moving up from Chicagoland is that my default airport switched from ORD to MKE, eliminating Frontera from my preflight checklist.

                    2. We just passed through Midway on the way home from Girlapalooza. I was pleasantly surprised at how much the food options have improved. There are a lot of them that are not completely horrible.

                      Lots of construction going on too.

                    3. I've surprisingly only gone through MDW a couple times, but it's always been a pleasant experience. At least if you don't include having to actually get there.

              1. I seriously considered Meathead, too. Any time I'm considering smoking something, I check out how he'd do it first.

    2. We seasoned our prime ribs and half chickens this morning. I have to come in tomorrow morning at 530 to help set up the smoker and get the meat on in time. Looking forward to some smoked prime rib and chicken tomorrow!

      1. Sounds delicious. Our grocery keeps having really cheap rib roasts ($4.77 a pound!) so I bought one yesterday. I was considering smoking that for tomorrow, but decided to go with (pork) ribs and steaks instead. Smoked ribs are pretty much just for me (it is Father’s Day after all) but I know most of the rest of the family won’t eat them. So, I’ll throw some steaks on at the end to try to please everyone.

        Snake method, here I come!

  3. confidential to meat: Bobcat Bite has closed. But hope remains -- they are looking to re-open somewhere downtown and return to the proper naming later this summer.

    1. May he not disappoint you as he's disappointed me the past week.

      I'm going Cron today.

      1. So, with Castro out of the line up, I have Max too. Unless only one of us can take Max? I don't read the rules to well.

  4. So, AD for Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, and 3 first round picks.

    I'm not sure how Ingram and Zion will mesh, but both are very talented. I'm not sold on Ball at all. Hart clearly has potential, but he regressed this season. Two of the three picks are likely to be non-lottery picks. They will hurt LA more than help N.O., I suspect. But this year's pick (no. 4) could be huge.

    1. AD's pops was reported to be a classy dude, I wonder what Lonzo Ball's dad is like............... ...... .. . . .

      1. After the trade, he asserted that the Lakers will never win another championship. I’m sure they take the threat very seriously.

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